1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to vehicle management systems and methods and, more particularly, to a Rental/CarShare (RCS) vehicle access and management system and method for use and installation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, RCS companies utilize a vehicle management system that includes several hardware modules that are mounted in the RCS vehicle in order to manage a fleet of RCS vehicles. Such modules are usually connected through the Internet to a remote server containing a vehicle database, a customer registration web based interface, and a billing system.
The RCS ideal business model requires its vehicles be in service for approximately 12 months. However, currently, the RCS vehicles are rolled over every 18 to 24 months due to the high labor cost of removing the hardware and re-installing it in a new vehicle, which typically costs about $85 to remove and $285 to re-install. Thus, the expense and time intensive installation and transfer process of vehicle management hardware is a significant burden on RCS companies. In addition, current hardware to support a management system may be expensive, due to sophisticated hardware and expensive RFID readers, and draw too much power.